Synopses & Reviews

Synopsis

Excerpt from Fourth Annual Report of the Secretary of the State Pomological Society of Michigan: 1874

Gentlemen - There are hidden springs impelling the action of societies as well as of individuals.

The inspiration which dictated to the lamented A. J. Downing the first lines of his preface to Fruits and Fruit Trees of America, is one of the elements which sustains the life of this Pomological Society. He thought he could be pardoned for talking about fruit trees, because his hours spent in orchards and gardens took an additional charm from the presence of the noble Hudson, though it is begirt with barren mountains, giving to the voyager upon it the impression of patches to the little tillable spots which are the sites of its beautiful towns and scattering farms.

Here and there a little fruit amid barren mountain wastes had its effect upon him. The love of it, more than a money consideration, led him to initiate the great work which his brother has so well completed.

Is it strange, then, that Michigan, with near or quite a thousand miles of water front on its lower peninsula, with nearly continuous arable lands, form ing almost a continent suitable for fruit production, - is it strange, I say, that this great State should contain a body of men who will undertake the work this Society is doing without a money compensation, - for the love of it?

All great unpaid labors have their compensation. Ours is in the practical knowledge which we borrow from each other, and the satisfaction of seeing the interests of Pomology advance as do all the great industries of the day.

I propose now to hold a check on the natural tendencies of the occasion to talk of the beautiful and the lovely in our theme, and to confine myself to the business side of the subject.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.